y fever--View from the
Alpine Club--Superga--_Academia della Science_--Departure--Mont
Cenis railway--The great Tunnel--Modane--Farewell to Italy 315

CHAPTER XXVI.

From Modane to Paris--Lovely scenery--St. Michel--St. Jean de
Maurienne--Epierre--Paris--Notre Dame--French immorality--La
Manche--"Dear old foggy London"--Reflections and conclusion 330

FAIR ITALY. THE RIVIERA

AND MONTE CARLO.

CHAPTER I.

Introduction--Charing Cross--Dover--Submarine Channel Tunnel--Calais
--Advantages of travelling second class--Superfluous examination of
luggage--Paris--Dining _a la carte_ versus _table d'hote_--Noel--An
Officer's Funeral--Lyons--Scenery of the Rhone--Constant changes in
the landscape--Want of proper accommodation at the railway stations--
Defective lighting of railway carriages

If any person is desirous of putting forward a good excuse for spending
a few weeks on the continent, the climate of the British Isles at any
time of the year, but more particularly between November and May, will
always justify his so doing. To exchange the damp and fog that too
frequently form the staple of the weather about the festive time of
Christmas and the opening of the new year, for the bright clear skies
and sunny days of the south of France and Italy, is so pleasant, and
travelling is now so easy and so cheap, the only wonder is that more
people do not take advantage of it to leave "the winter of their
discontent" for a short time at this season.

In our case--that is, of myself and my wife--having not only this
disposition for a trip of a month or so, but also the leisure time at
our disposal, the only question was, in what particular direction was
our Hegira to be?

Our object being purely that of pleasantly spending our time and seeing
as many interesting places and objects as we possibly could, it really
mattered little whither we steered our course, provided it was to climes
where fogs are known to the natives only by hearsay, where Nature
assumes a brighter aspect, and Art collects her treasures to reward the
traveller for his pains.

We took down that most instructive though mysterious of all books,
"Bradshaw," and spreading out the map showing various continental lines
of railway, proceeded to study the network puzzle with a view of
determining which should be the lan